Lessons In Life
by pupeez4eva
Summary: After a nightmare, Yachiru goes to tenth division to seak comfort in the form of a certain white-haired Captain. He teaches her a few things. NO SLASH!


"What are you doing in my room?"

Hitsugaya clenched his teeth and stared at the small, pink-clad figure standing in the doorway. Yachiru took a few steps forward, hesitantly. Hitsugaya quirked one eyebrow - since when was Yachiru 'hesitant' about anything?

"I had a bad dream."

Oh. That explained it - though it didn't completely clear his incredulousness. Yachiru wasn't the type of girl to start crying over little things like that; and she had been crying - Hitsugaya could make out the tear tracks on her small face.

"Why are you bothering me then?" he muttered. Despite his curiousity, he had never been a 'comforting' type of person. Ignoring the girl's tears and obvious distress would work out better for him.

"I want to stay here" Yachiru replied, after a moment. "Can I?"

"Absolutely not!" Hitsugaya snapped. "I don't have time to put up with your antics Kusajishi...I have work tomorrow morning, I need my sleep..."

"Please?" Yachiru's dark eyes widened and her lower lip trembled slightly. "I'll be good, promise!"

Hitsugaya scoffed. Yeah. Like he believed that.

"I won't fall for that look" he muttered, snappishly, glaring at the girl. "Go back to the Eleventh Division."

Yachiru shook her head wildly.

"No!" she cried. "I don't want to go back there! You can't make me!"

She sounded so distressed that it actualy made Hitsugaya do a double take. 'Distressed' and 'Yachiru' usually weren't two words you found in the same sentence.

"...Whats wrong?" he asked, after a moment. "What happened?"

Yachiru bit her lip, unwilling to answer. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes.

"I'm giving you a minute" he said. "To give me a good reason to let you stay here. If not, you can leave because I don't have time for this."

He knew he was being cruel. But Yachiru wasn't the only one who had nightmares - he did too. But that didn't mean he went running for comfort. He had given up his childhood when becoming a Captain. Yachiru was a vice captain; she should have been willing to do the same.

Yachiru didn't speak and, for a moment, Hitsugaya thought she was actually going to turn and leave. Then she answered and Hitsugaya had to strain to here what she was saying.

"I dreamt that Kenny died."

Hitsugaya stared at her, incredulously for a moment. Then, with a wry grin, he leaned forward towards her.

"Anyone who tries to kill Zaraki would probably find themselves missing a few limbs" he said. Yachiru didn't smile or agree - to his surprise she looked even more distressed.

"But he _did _get hurt, a few days ago! Someone hurt him real bad, and Braid-Lady looked real worried when she was fixing him up! I think...I think..." there was a catch in her voice and Hitsugaya realised she was holding back a sob. "I-I think he was...d-d-dying."

There was an awkward pause. Then Hitsugaya offered her a consolling smile.

"He didn't though. In fact, he's fine...I saw him up and about today looking like his normal self." His normal, killing obsessed, boorish self that was.

"But..." Yachiru's voice shook. "How come? Kenny's never gotten that hurt before! Why now?"

Ahh...so the girl was beginning to learn that no one, not even her 'Kenny' was invincible.

Hitsugaya sighed and readied himself for a long talk.

"Yachiru..." he began, her name rolling awkwardly off his tongue. "Everyone gets hurt at some point. No one's incapable of getting that way."

"Kenny is" Yachiru argued, stubbornly. "He's really strong."

"Yes he is" Hitsugaya agreed. "But strength doesn't make you invincible."

Yachiru stared at him with wide eyes. Hitsugaya felt a tinge of satisfaction at managing to drill some good advice into the hyper-girls skull...not an easy feat.

That disappeared with her next words.

"...What's invincible?"

Hitsugaya sighed and squeazed his eyes shut for a moment. When he opened them he saw the pink-haired girl gazing at him curiously. Some of the distress was gone at least.

"Invincible...well it means nothing can hurt you. You can't die, you can't be beaten, you can't get hurt...but no ones like that."

"Why not?" Yachiru's eyes bored into his. "Why can't we be? Then no one would need to worry anymore and everything would be perfect."

"Nothings perfect" Hitsugaya retorted. _"Nothing."_

There was a pause. Then...

"...Will Kenny get hurt like that again?"

Hitsugaya sighed. For a minute he considered lying to the girl...telling her yes so that she would get out off his room and leave him in peace. His concious won over his desire to get rid of her in the end.

"Yes. Yes he will."

Harsh as it sounded, it was the truth. Hitsugaya reasoned that lying to the girl would not be smart. She could deal with the truth.

The flinch made him wonder if he was right or not.

"...He will?"

"Kusajishi...Yachiru..." Hitsugaya swallowed. "I don't know for certain what will happen. But it's a very big possibility...a possibility you need to be ready for."

He heard the shaky intake of breath from the girl and he silently prayed that she wouldn't start crying.

"You don't need to think about it though; don't need to fear it. It may happen, it may not. You don't need to wait for it. If it...happens then you work from there. But worrying will get you know where. You need to...you need to live for today. Not in the past...not in the future. _In the present."_

_'Not to self...never give a life lesson. Ever. I suck at it.' _he thought to himself, glumly.

Though, Yachiru actually seemed to be considering what he had said. Her head was cocked to the side, her eyes wide open and glazed with thought.

"So" she said after a moment. "If...Kenny gets hurt again what will I do?"

"Help him" Hitsugaya replied. "Be there for him."

Yachiru nodded. Hitsugaya sighed in relief and snuggled into his bed, closing his eyes. Finally, he would be able to get some sleep...

...A light thump from behind him made him open his eyes.

_"What are you doing?" _he snarled at the little, pink-haired girl lying next to him.

"You said I could stay if I told you what are wrong in a minute" she replied, her voice back to it's normal cheerful tone. Hitsugaya stared at her, gobsmacked. Goddammit, he _had _said that!

"Night, night."

"Kusajishi, don't you dare -"

The girl was already fast asleep.

Hitsugaya groaned and buried himself deep into the blankets.

_'Note to self...DEFINITLEY don't give life lessons in the future.'_

For a minute he sat there, staring at the small form next to him. Then, with a slight shrug, he laid down and snuggled up next to her, allowing sleep to take him.

He would let her stay there for now...but she'd better be gone in the morning.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong>

**Hope that was alright. Aww...I love writing stories about Yachiru and Toshiro. Not SLASH... I don't really like pairings between the two much. But friendships and sibling-relationships are so cute...**

**Anyway, review please and tell me what you think!**


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